1989
by PagetPaulson
Summary: Her graduation.
Emily ignored the sound of her brother on the phone as she looked into the mirror to fix the curls she had put into her hair. Adjusting her gown, the senior graduate did her best to smile at her reflection.

"We just have to give her a little longer."

The eighteen year old held back her retort, her head shaking. "Don't bother."

Her older brother made a face at the back of Emily's head. "Em, she said that it'll only be a few minutes."

"A few minutes, a few hours, a few days," she shrugged, "what's the difference?" Everything revolved around their mother, but this was not her graduation. It was Emily's. "You can tell her secretary we're going in without her."

Aaron sighed, dialing the number back into his phone.

Emily's eyes left her reflection when she heard the locker room door open. "Baby," she grinned, opening her arms as the sixteen month old toddled over to her. "Look at you all pretty in your dress."

The toddler ran on her tiny legs across the room into her mother's arms. "Mama!"

"Hi baby," the graduate laughed, kissing the little girls' cheek. Adjusting the sleeves to the purple dress she had gotten her daughter, the eighteen year old rubbed her nose against the baby's. "Look at Uncle Aaron."

The older teen smiled at his sister and took a picture of the pair.

"Hi," Jordyn whispered to the familiar teen. Her tiny arms reached out for her uncle and let her mother hand her over to the her older brother. "Hi!"

"Hi," he grinned back to her.

Emily watched her brother tickle the little girl she'd gotten pregnant with her sophomore year with a smile. "God, her head is almost as big as yours," she breathed, wanting to walk over and fix the sixteen month old's curls.

"And almost as pretty as me too."

The eighteen year old snorted. "You think that." Fixing her gown once more in the mirror, Emily set her cap just at the crown of her head, fluffing out her curls.

Aaron wanted to reach into his pocket and call their mother again. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"You two are all I need," she said with a smile, taking her daughter back from the older boy and walking out into the school's hallway. "Jordyn, look at all of mommy's friends." Emily waved to the group waiting in the corner of the gym for their class to be led out to where their ceremony would take place.

"Hi!"

Penelope's face exploded into her biggest smile at the excitement she saw her friend's daughter hold. "Hi Jordyn," she cooed, taking the little girl and smothering her dark head of hair in kisses. "Aren't you precious?"

Jordyn made a face at the teenager.

"Are you proud of your mommy?"

Emily kept herself still as she let her older brother fix the collar of her dark blue graduation gown. After getting pregnant with her daughter it didn't matter who she talked to - her guidance counselor, the principal, her teachers, even her parents - no one thought she would have made it past her finals that sophomore year. She had given birth to Jordyn Rose on the twenty-third of December and was able to be a mother her last few years of high school.

She knew she'd mentally thanked her mother more than a few times. The ambassador didn't want much to do with her or her daughter, the disappointment too much to handle along with her job, but without their money and the help they had around their home, Emily wasn't sure she'd have been able to do it.

It was her fault she'd gotten pregnant; she was reminded of that every moment of the day. But her pregnancy wasn't a problem.

Having Jordyn had gotten the teenager out of her rebellious phase. Before her daughter, Emily was failing her easiest classes and doing her best to find the loudest, drunkest party she could to stop her overthinking.

Jordyn saved her.

"Students, we're almost ready to go."

Emily stole her daughter back from her friend and shared a kiss with her. "Mommy has to go, ok?"

"Bye mama," Jordyn giggled, letting her mother hand her off to her uncle so they could walk out to the stage the school had set up on their football field. "Bye mama!"

"Bye baby girl," Emily laughed, kissing her once more before falling in line with the rest of her classmates.

Derek waved to his friend's daughter as she was carried away. "You did good, Em."

The brunette fixed the ends of her curls as their lines started moving out of the gym and into the sunlight. "I know," she winked, smiling when her friends started laughing.

"We're only going to schools a few hours away," Penelope quickly brought up as they walked through the grass, "so I can still babysit, right?"

Emily laughed. "Of course." She was headed to Yale - now the valedictorian of her class after getting her act together - and her grandfather was nice enough to let them stay at the house he used during the summer while she was in school. Dorming with her daughter wouldn't be an option.

She felt herself straighten her shoulders as the stage came into view. Everyone had their friends and family there to wish them well on their adventures they'd take on after high school, but her friends were all right beside her, and the better part of her family didn't care enough to come.

Her heels walking on the freshly mowed grass, while everyone was waving to those who'd come to watch them own their success, Emily kept her eyes straight ahead and her feet one in front of the other.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the class of 1989."

The students walked up onto the stage as the crowd applauded them, their teachers watching from the front row.

"We couldn't be more proud of you seniors," their principal said, smiling into the microphone. "Parents, I'm sure they wanted to quit a few times. Thank you for helping them through this and letting them know they can do it. Your help and their hard work are the reasons they're standing here today."

Emily chuckled silently to herself as her friend moved one of her curls from her eyes.

"Now if you'll please put your hands together for the class's valedictorian. She's a smart girl, she's gone through rough patches just like the rest of us, and she's risen above them with the help of her brother and little girl Jordyn. Please welcome, Emily Elizabeth Prentiss."

The brunette took a deep breath before leaving her spot in the back row and walking down to the podium, doing her best to ignore the applause so she wouldn't get side tracked and end up with her face flat on the floor. She smiled, letting her principal shake her hand before she stood at the podium.

Her eyes immediately found those of her brother, and she shared a wave with her sixteen month old. "Thank you so much for celebrating with us today."

Before she could continue, her gaze moved to the back of the football bleachers where their families and friends had taken their seats. Squinting, she noticed a familiar face finding its way to the back row so they could take one of the last available seats.

Her mother.

Emily waited until the ambassador's eyes looked up and met hers. A small nod from the older woman was all she got, but honestly that was all she needed.

"Welcome," she continued, her eyes moving back to the speech she had written as she smiled, "to the graduation of the class of 1989."


End file.
